DNR to close trails and day-use areas amid spread of coronavirus
.jpg "Mailbox Peak is a popular hiking trail in the North Bend area, and is one of many DNR-operated areas now closed to the public to help slow the spread of coronavirus.")
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The outdoors community is divided on whether it’s safer in coronavirus times to hike on a trail or walk closer to home, but officials are reinforcing the “stay at home” message by continuing to close recreation areas.
On Thursday, the Washington state Department of Natural Resources will close the nearly 6 million acres it manages to the public.
That includes trailheads, trails, roads, campgrounds, day-use areas and dispersed recreational lands.
The closure will last through at least April 8, and officials will assess the situation then and determine if the closure should be extended.
Now closed will be popular hiking trails like Mailbox Peak, Rattlesnake Mountain, Mount Si, Poo Poo Point, Mount Teneriffe, Little Si and West Tiger Mountains, among many others. (Check out a map of the closures here).
Crowds flocking to these areas since the outbreak of COVID-19, especially Rattlesnake Ledge, have generated outrage by many angered that hikers weren’t practicing social distancing.
Hilary Franz, DNR’s commissioner of public lands, said the crowded trails last weekend helped make the closure decision, although it wasn’t an easy one.
“We treasure our forests and trails and beaches as places of rejuvenation and refuge from the chaos of daily life,” she said. “But, I cannot ignore the unfortunate reality of what we saw this weekend: crowded trails, people shoulder to shoulder, and large gatherings. This behavior undercuts the sacrifices that Washingtonians of all means and ability are making in order to adhere to social distancing. And it undercuts the heroic efforts of our doctors, nurses, and first responders who risk their lives each day responding to this unrelenting epidemic.”
“This behavior also makes clear that, while we have taken drastic measures, we have not done enough when it comes to closing areas where large crowds gather and communicating the importance of staying at home and avoiding physical contact with others. The disruptions we are experiencing are difficult and challenging – and unprecedented in our lifetimes. But they are necessary. We must bend the curve. And if we all do our part, these temporary disruptions will save countless lives.”
DNR employees will patrol their land and trailheads and keep an eye out for anyone ignoring the closures.
Although the department said it’s counting on people to “do the right thing” and stay home, employees plan on enforcing the rules.
People on DNR land will be educated on the new rules and asked to leave, and citations will be given to those who refuse.
Lee Jacobson, founder of the 131,000-member Washington Hikers and Climbers group, said he supports DNR’s closures even though so many rely on the outdoors to stay sane during difficult times.
“The closing of these trails is unfortunate but necessary, as people’s desire to get outdoors and escape our urban areas was leading to severe overcrowding on our most popular trails,” Jacobson said. “The fact is that ‘social distancing,’ while a laudable concept, is essentially impossible on most mountain trails that see any meaningful foot traffic, and completely impossible on our most popular ones.”
Read more on the DNR closures here.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 12:18 PM with the headline "DNR to close trails and day-use areas amid spread of coronavirus."
